Kevin (flipping channels): Tom & Jerry?

Kinnell: No! Not TomJerry!

Kevin: Super Why?

Raimi: No! no!

Kevin: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?

Raimi: Yes! Ninja Turtles! I like their weapons.

Kinnell: Ninja Turtles. I want sword. Want my sword. Bwack one.

Hanukkah, Hanukkah, rum-a-tum-tum. Hear the beat, beat on the drum.

Hanukkah, Hanukkah, what do you see? I see a mountain goat looking at me.

Then he handed it to me. “Now you read it.”

Also some interesting insights from Raimi: the other day we were discussing that cousin Max & Jack’s dog had to be put to sleep. I said it was sad because she was their pet and they miss her. Raimi said, “It’s God’s pet now.”

One evening, Raimi said, “Mommy, when people don’t think there can be boyfriend & boyfriend or girlfriend & girlfriend, that’s sexist.” Also yesterday my friend Danielle was crying because she had to put her beloved cat to sleep, and Raimi’s eyes welled up and he became extremely sad, filled with empathy. I gave him big hugs and he hugged Danielle and then I told him that he doesn’t have to take care of anyone’s feelings,  that Danielle would be ok and it’s ok to be sad sometimes. I was still proud of him for caring that she was sad.

The other night, Raimi looked out the window at bedtime and said, “What a beautiful sunset.”

When story time was over I was trying to get Raimi to bed and he looked down at his hand and said, as if he were reading it, said, “Kevock.”

Me: Kevock? Silly, it says Kevin!

Raimi (smiling): Kevock and Raimock.

Me: Who are Kevock and Raimock?

Raimi: Raimock looks the same on the outside but he looks different on the inside. He has different teeth, and he swallows rocks whole, and then he just eats plants…and… wood. Kevock looks different on the outside. He just eats meat.

Me: What does Raimock look like on the outside?

Raimi: Skin.

Me: What does Kevock look like on the outside?

Raimi: He looks different. He has…

Me: guts?

Raimi (grinning): yeah, guts! And he just eats meat.

After he’d gone off to bed he came to our room to tell us something about lamby. Then he said, ” Raimock.”

Kevin: What?

Me: Raimock looks the same on the outside but has different teeth and swallows rocks whole so he can eat plants and wood.

Raimi: Yeah, and Kevock has guts on the outside and he just eats meat. He’s a kind of fish.

Me: Kevock is a kind of fish? What is Raimock

Raimi: A creature!

Kevin (laughing): Ok, Raimock it’s time for bed.

Raimi: [dawdles]

Kevin: Raimi go to bed or I’ll put my guts on you.

Raimi: Stop talking about it - you’re grossing me out.

Yesterday I picked Kinnell up from daycare, and then walked back downtown with him to get my car at my office. Passing through the lobby of my building we saw a coworker who has a son about Kinnell’s age.

“Kinnell, say hi to Andrew,” I said.

Kinnell shouted: “Hi Andrew, I’m ME!”

Also, a couple things about Raimi:

1. The other day he invented a new joke. He actually invents jokes pretty regularly, but to be honest, they usually don’t make a lot of sense, except to him. But the other day, apropos of nothing, he turned to me and Ro with a worried look on his face and said “Someone help! The sun’s on fire!” and that actually got a laugh.

2. Also recently he was watching Tom & Jerry (I don’t get why kids like this show, but Jesus they think it’s hilarious). At one point Raimi said, to himself, “Aww, that poor cat. He’s never gonna catch that mouse.”

3. And a while back we were eating dinner at Monical’s, and they have those placemats with maps and mazes and riddles and things on them, very helpful for the stressed-out parent. One of the riddles on the placemat was a logic problem, I forget the whole scenario, but basically a guy goes into a restaurant and the person waiting on him says something about him being in the Army, so the question is how does the waiter know the guy’s in the Army, and the answer is that he was wearing his uniform. I’m not describing it that well, but my point is that way the problem was worded was very confusing, and I couldn’t figure it out on my own and needed to sneak a peak at the answer, but Raimi just thought about it for a second and totally came up with the answer. The dude is smart.

Raimi loves to play on the computer. His favorite computer game is Freddie Fish. He loves to have Shitong next to him while he plays. Together they have completed and won the Freddie Fish game. When we are in the big room, Raimi loves to bounce on the big green ball. He must have a lot of leg strength because he can be seen bouncing most of the time we are in the big room. Besides computers and the big green ball, Raimi loves books. He enjoys large books with lots of pages that give him things to do. His favorite books are about pirates or transformers.

They played a music box version of Ode to Joy as the children processed in wearing felt mortarboards, led by their dedicated teacher, Sharon.

Sharon presented each child with a certificate while the Center’s director, Kathy, read something about them. About Raimi, they said that his favorite things to do are play computer games with his friend Shitong sitting close by, bounce on the green bouncy ball, and read books, especially books with lots of things to find in them and books about Transformers.

They also sang songs about school and about Kindergarten. Raimi did not join in the singing, but he did stand quietly and politely during the songs.

Here is Raimi with Shitong and another buddy, Ali:

This is Donna, the Assistant Teacher in Raimi’s Room, who Raimi loves to read books with:

The next day we went to the building fair in downtown Champaign. There were a lot of interesting things to make and do, but the kids weren’t that interested. For instance, Kinnell declined to climb aboard the fire truck they had brought in for kids to see, but he did enjoy being near it.

Then we saw Shitong there! He was so excited, he greeted Raimi by kicking him in the stomach. You can tell in this picture that it hurt, but Raimi didn’t mind very much. They’re good friends.

Raimi disappeared for a bit. He was hiding inside a tree.

When Kinnell plays with sticks, he likes to say, “I got my snake!”

(Kinnell twirls his hair when he’s feeling sleepy or thoughtful.)

But then…

Kinnell got sick, poor dude. Grandma stayed home and took care of the kids.

She took this next photo herself — the poor little guy mostly wanted to be sad all by himself and only consented to be held after a long day of looking absolutely pathetic.

Raimi was fine. Kinnell was crabby for days.

Everyone felt better after a few days.

Here are some examples of his vocabulary.

Today in the car, we’re not sure if Kevin & Kinnell got home first or if we “won the race.” Raimi says, “I’m going to investigate if Daddy is home.”

The other day, Raimi asked me if I know the difference between explosion and eruption. “Explosion is like a bomb that explodes. Eruption is like a volcano–the lava goes up!”

Raimi told Kevin the other day, “I have a magnificent idea!”

Just now, Kevin’s reading the book A to Y with Bonus Letter Z, and it mentions “hunchback.” Raimi asks Kevin, “What’s a hunchback?” “It’s someone who’s stooped over.” Clarifying, Raimi asks, “Are you a hunchback?”

Meanwhile, Kinnell’s fluency is also rapidly expanding, as is his mastery of big boy tasks such as washing his hands and drinking from a cup without a lid. And he has big boy opinions! “No mommy! I don’t like that” is practically his catch phrase. He also goes to sleep on his own, quietly twiddling a lock of hair until he drifts off.

He’s still got some baby qualities though. Tonight we were reading a book about different animals using the potty. So we started talking about who uses the potty.

Me: Does the elephant use the potty? Kinnell: Yes. Me: Who else uses the potty? Does mommy use the potty? Kinnell: (smiling) Yes. Me: Who else? Kinnell: (nodding) Daddy use the potty. And Raimi do. Me: Do you want to use the potty? Kinnell: (smile fading) NO.